Q: I saw the renowned limited edition for the first time, it really has a lot of art works. Every song is interpreted through pictures and illustrations.
RUKI: Yes. And there are also artworks for the whole album.
Q: The scale of artwork and images in the GazettE’s albums always surprises me. But this time, again it was really unexpected.
RUKI: It’ll get more and more amazing from now on (laughs)
Q: Indeed (laughs). Regarding the songs, what did you have in mind when making this album?
RUKI: Our previous album “TOXIC” was more about energy / vigor. This time we made it into 2 CDs, and made them have completely 2 different images.
Q: Was the concept of showing the dual side of the band there since the beginning?
RUKI: Nope, initially we thought of making 2 mini albums. Then we thought, what about compressing them into 1 album.
Q: I see. But it has been just 10 months since you released “TOXIC”, and you had a long tour in between, so to release something of this scale must have been difficult.
RUKI: But we didn’t release any single in between so in the end the time (used for making this album) was around the same as usual.
Kai: This is the first time we decided not to release any single in between. Usually we would release some singles first, and sometimes there’s a one year gap between those singles and the album, so at times it’s hard to match (the singles) with the songs for the album. This time, all songs were new so it was easier to form album image.
Q: So, releasing an album without releasing any single is also possible ne.
RUKI: I think it’s good. Usually we would release a single and hold live performances or tour based on that single, but it’s easier to bring out the image during an album tour. In that sense, for us, we made something that we could agree on, too. When the number of songs changes, the way of showing them also changes.
Q: So, your tour this time will be all about “DIVISION” ne
Kai: That’s right. Each member has his own thoughts on “TOXIC”, and we utilized that to make “DIVISION”. That kind of thing.
Q: For the limited version, Disc1 and Disc3 are CD, and Disc2 is a DVD. Disc1 is titled Fragment［VEIN］, and Disc 3 「Fragment［ARTERY］. Does this represent 2 opposites, or “2 but 1”?
RUKI: It’s more towards “2 but 1”. The core of this band are “melodious songs” and “heavy songs”; usually we put them together but this time we put them apart. I thought of the artwork later, but if I compare it to people, then it would be twins.
Q: By dividing something which has 1 DNA into 2, what did you find out?
Kai: That we could swing either way completely. We could specialize in both melodious and heavy songs. When we progressed in one, the other one also progresses.
Q: So it was like a synergistic work.
Kai: That’s right. But we’ve had both of them since the beginning. For example, if we made an album focusing only on one, it would have been completely different. That’s why dividing them into 2 and showing the special characteristics of each is something that we can do now.
Q: So it’s like accumulation of what you’ve been doing so far ne. Did anything become clearer after that?
Kai: Regarding our music, yes.
Q: How was the recording?
Kai: I was more nervous than usual (laughs). I didn’t know what the final version would sound like. In Disc3, I tried some new things. It started with my not knowing how to mix my drumming with digital sounds, so when I recorded (my part) I was worried, I didn’t know what to do. However, I experimented on the first day of recording and played drum as usual, and thought about how to mix it from there. After that, I think the composer and engineer were having a more difficult time than me (laughs). And based on which way the drum sound would lean on, the bass also changed significantly.
Q: It looks like this album is quite experimental.
Kai: Everyone started not quite knowing what to do. Of course we thought of making good songs, and in particular the composers have image of what kind of songs they wanted to make, so to get closer to that image, after recording we have some minute work, and I think it was the most difficult. Recording was same as usual (laughs).
Q: You didn’t have much problems?
Kai: Well.. we had problems, but we’ve always had them (laughs)
Q: (laughs) What do you think of the making of the album, Ruki-san?
RUKI: I didn’t have much problems either in the music or the lyrics
Q: (the songs in) Disc 1 have Japanese titles, and the lyrics are mainly in Japanese. Did you aim to contrast it with Disc 3?
RUKI: In all aspect I divided it into 2. But content-wise, Disc 1 is deeper.
Q: You have already leaked 2 songs from each CD, “Ibitsu” from Disc 1 and “DERANGEMENT” from Disc 2. Did you get some impressions from the fans?
RUKI: They’re the main songs for this album, but as of now they’re just song impressions. We want people to hear both them as songs and as part of the album.
Q: By the way, on the regular version, the order of the songs is different from the limited one, it’s like you mixed Disc 1 and 3. I think it’s quite unusual.
RUKI: That’s right. The base of “DIVISION” is the limited edition one. The regular edition is more like, “I just want (to hear) the songs”, for people who don’t want to know about the album deeper (laughs).
Kai: The limited version has a clear story, and it’s the “DIVISION” that we wanted to express. The regular version ended up becoming simplistic.
Q: So it’s like, you subtracted things from the limited version to make the regular version.
Kai: Yes. It’s commonly referred to as limited and regular version. Rather than expressing things differently for limited and regular version, this regular version is there because of the limited versionQ: But still, honestly I’m so moved that you could give a concrete form to everything you wanted to express.
RUKI: Indeed, we don’t do it often ne (laughs)
Q: More like, it’s quite difficult to do ne. I think it’s an album that screams “the GazettE”. Was the final version different from what you originally had in mind?
Kai: It was more of, how to get closer to what we had in mind.
RUKI: The original idea was really abstract. So it’s like we worked to make it satisfactory.
Q: How many songs did you have before you pick the songs?
Kai: 20.. no, more than that.
RUKI: We can’t decide it on the first time. Usually we decide on the songs the second time; we choose first, and then add songs that we think are good. Bands that can pick good songs at once can usually decide at once, but it’s quite difficult.
Q: Usually the GazettE’s albums have intro and outro. What kind of role do they have?
RUKI: They’re the beginning and end of an album, like opening and ending of a movie. And it’s our standard to have them in an album.
Q: You also put intro and outro in your live performances. I wanted to listen to the transition between “Depth” and “Ibitsu” live. This time, too, the songs sound like they’re going to sound great live. Did you have that in mind when composing?
Kai: Well, we had it in mind, but since the beginning there are things that we don’t know unless we try (live). Some unexpected things may occur in live performances (laughs).
Q: Do you think it will go according to your expectation for this album?
Kai: For the first day showing it 100% may be good, but we’re have strong sense in constructing (a live performance). By changing things during the tour, we can try a lot of things and look for the best world for “DIVISION”. It happens later on (during the tour)
Q: And based on that, you move on to your next work.
Kai: That’s right. I hope we can do that.
Q: I went to watch the first (Tokyo Kokusai Forum) and final (Yokohama Arena) performance of your “TOXIC” tour “the GazettE LIVE TOUR 2011-12 VENOMOUS CELL”. I was really surprised by the overwhelming differences between the two.
RUKI: Thank you very much. We didn’t change the setlist that much, though.
Q: Ruki-san, from your point of view as a vocalist, did you feel the change?
RUKI: We built it for the final performance, so we kept thinking about the contents, and finally settled on the final form. Usually it’s a matter of the flow (of the performance), so we did it normally for the first day, and then analyzed it for the next ones.
Q: I thought the performing side was usually subjective
Kai: Of course subjectivity is important, but it’s also important to view things objectively. It’s really important to think on how people view us now.
Q: Do the GazettE always view things objectively when giving live performances?
RUKI: Since the beginning, relatively yes.
Kai: Everyone is so strict to himself (laughs). We don’t want to end stuffs while there are still things that are not good.
Q: I see. By the way, for “TOXIC” it was quite a hard schedule; you started the tour just the next day after the album got released. but this time you put a little bit of time before starting.
RUKI: Yes, we deliberately put some time. Isn’t it good if fans can listen to the album for some more time? Moreover, we also want to make an album within a year.
Q: I’m really looking forward to see how this album changes with the tour. By the way, I can’t help but feeling curious, but… this time, for your artist photo, could it be.. Reita-san finally showed his nose?
Kai: No, no, it’s just that he was wearing hoodie so you can’t see. But he’s wearing it (laughs).
RUKI: If he didn’t it would be on the newspapers (laughs).
Credit :http://nobishonennolife.tumblr.com/
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